Sarah hated having to work a full shift on Halloween. It was always made it such a rush to get home in time to change out of her scrubs, open a bottle of wine, and get herself settled before the trick or treaters started showing up. At least today she wouldn’t be held past the end of her regular shift the way she often was. The latest spike in variant virus cases across the country hadn’t yet reached her local Poway community, so today things at the clinic were basically at their ordinary frenetic pace. It was the regular stress level from her high intensity job, but nothing that she couldn’t handle. Nonetheless, she couldn’t wait to get home and unwind.
The drive home was uneventful. In fact, the lower traffic congestion due to people working from home was the one positive impact that actually seemed to be a silver lining to the pandemic. As Sarah reached the eastern outskirts of town, she appreciated the orange hues that the setting October sun was casting on the boulder speckled hills behind her neighborhood. The talk radio political discussion that filled the void during her commute home intermittently was interrupted with reminders that listeners should be vigilant in social distancing while trick or treating this year. How does that even work? How did we even get here? Sarah ignored the thought as she slowly pulled into her driveway.
After flicking on the kitchen light and dropping her keys and purse on the counter, Sarah grabbed a bottle of red from the mini rack that her brother had gifted her for her birthday a few years back. She wasn’t a heavy drinker, but she enjoyed the odd glass of wine, especially on a Friday evening. “Alexa, play the Dixie Chicks ‘Gaslighter’ album.” Gaslighter harmonies began to fill the room.
Sarah heard a faint buzz and noticed that here purse was reverberating. She grabbed her phone and saw that she had a message from Todd. “Not tonight Todd”, Sarah smirked. She wouldn’t refer to Todd as her dirty little secret, though in truth that was exactly what he was. She had met Todd a few weeks ago at a local coffee shop. Since they both had erratic schedules, their rendez vous usually ended up being late at night and intensely physical. But not tonight. Sarah was ready to hand out candy to the local kids, to watch the latest netflix documentary and hit the sack early.
She peeked out the kitchen bay window. Dusk. Where did the time go? About two blocks down she noticed the silhouette of one taller shadow walking behind three miniature shadows that seemed to be skipping along. -Damn- They are already starting. She swirled the wine in here glass and had a small gulp. I guess I better get ready.
After throwing on some comfortable yoga pants and an old Padres jersey, Sarah switched on the porch light. The light flickered and died. -Damn- She opened the front door and stepped outside into the cool autumn air. Sarah peered at the bulb in the porch light sconce. She really didn’t want to go to the store right now and she knew she was out of replacements. She decided that with the kitchen light overflowing into a portion of the front yard, it would have to be enough.
She reached down and carefully pulled off the lid of the jack-o-lantern that she had prepared Wednesday afternoon. She lit the candle inside the jack-o-lantern and replaced the top. The aroma of slightly singed pumpkin fibers entered her nostrils. She loved that smell. The pumpkin’s illuminated grin was just becoming visible in the fading sunlight.
She looked at the clock. It was 6:30. She turned off the music, found her wine glass, cozied herself into an angle in the sofa and turned on the tv. No sooner had the home screen of Roku come up, when there was a knock on the door. Typical.
Knock… Knock.
Sarah opened the door to find an empty porch. Damn Halloween pranksters. She noticed that the top of the jack-o-lantern was askew and the light was out. She cursed under her breath as she went back into the house to grab the lighter. After relighting the jack-o-lantern, Sarah shut the front door, headed back to the couch and prepared herself for the next hour marathon of trips back and forth to the door to distribute candy out to the neighborhood children.
Knock, knock, knock.
The first group of trick or treaters arrived. Then the next, Then the next. Sarah loved seeing their little faces light up when she dropped a variety of candies into their bags as well as the variety of costumes. Also, it was fun to see the big brothers or sisters taking care of their younger siblings and teaching them the lay of the land. She began to run low on treats around 8:10 and by 8:22, she was out of candy. She turned off the kitchen light to signal to the neighborhood that she was no longer an active trick-or-treater stop point. After refilling her wine glass, she glanced out the kitchen window and saw what appeared to be a thinning crowd of trick or treaters on the street. She sat back down on the couch and fidgeted around on Netflix until she found a good Halloween movie to watch. Sarah had another sip of her wine and set the class down on the coffee table in front of her. Though she was used to her ever shifting schedule, she had been up since 5am this morning and she began to feel her eyelids getting heavy.
Knock.
Silence.
Knock… Knock.
Sarah quickly realized that she had dozed off and instinctively looked down at her watch. It was 9:05. Oh wow, I must have fallen asleep. Who the hell trick or treats after 9 anyway? And when the lights are out? Sarah begrudgingly forced herself to her feet and slowly walked down the hall toward the front door. She carefully bent forward and placed her eye behind the peep hole. On the dim porch, there was limited visibility. But someone was there. She could see a large shadow standing on the opposite side of the door from her. A shudder ran down her spine. Sarah took a step back and checked to make sure the deadbolt was locked. It wasn’t. “I’m done giving out candy!” She tried to sound assertive. She looked back through the peephole. The porch was empty. Phew! Oh my god – that was creepy.
She quickly turned the deadbolt and heard it slide into place. On her way back to the couch she thought she would go through the kitchen and decided that it was okay to turn the light back on. In fact, maybe she would invite Todd over after all. She reached into her purse to grab her phone. She felt around her brush, wallet and lipstick in an attempt to locate the distinctive rectangular Iphone. Did I leave it on the couch? Sarah took a few steps around the corner to give her the full view of the living room. She couldn’t see her phone on the couch, the coffee table, or anywhere.
Knock… Knock.
Oh my god. Sarah could feel her heart rate increasing. Where the hell is my phone? She hesitated for a few seconds then walked back towards the front door. She felt her breathing intensify as she forced herself to look back through the peep hole. At first she was relieved as there was no shadow in front of the door. But then she saw it. Slightly off to the side of the porch, it was there. “Leave me alone! What do you want?! I’m going to call the cops you creep!” Her throat began to tighten as she felt the panic set in. Where is my phone!? She was feeling desperate.
My bedroom… I must have left it there when I changed clothes. Sarah rushed through the house to her bedroom at the opposite end of the hallway. She stepped inside and immediately realized that her room was colder than the rest of the house. She walked past the closet door and over to the the window on the right side of the bed. Her stomach dropped as she pulled back the curtains. The window was open and the screen was removed. She grabbed the window with both hands and angrily slid the window down and locked it into place. She turned on the bedside lamp and scanned around the room. Her scrubs were bundled up on the floor where she left them but she couldn’t see her phone anywhere.
Knock… Knock.
Sarah’s eyes began to well up. She could now feel the tension building up in her shoulders, neck and temples. She searched around her roof for something that could be used as a weapon. She grabbed a metal water bottle that felt heavy enough to be used as a club. Sarah began screaming as she walked back toward the front door. “Leave me alone!” She pleaded. Sarah approached the front door and focused on the small peephole in front of her. She took a breath. She lowered herself and peered through the peephole. But there was no one. No one in front of the door, no one off to the side. Sarah took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Then she heard it.
Knock…Knock…Knock…
She was absolutely terrified and screamed at the limit of her lungs as she realized this knocking wasn’t coming from the front door. It was coming from somewhere behind her, inside the house. She turned with horror as her eyes met with the shadow at the other end of the hall. The shadow began to move toward her.
